NBA Finals: Spurs respond to rout with one of their own

Wednesday

Jun 12, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 12, 2013 at 9:09 AM

SAN ANTONIO - From big threes to Big Three, the Spurs had it all in the NBA Finals' return to San Antonio. Danny Green made seven of the Spurs' Finals-record 16 three-pointers, Tim Duncan had 12 points and 14 rebounds and the Spurs clobbered the Miami Heat 113-77 last night to take 2-1 lead in the series.

SAN ANTONIO — From big threes to Big Three, the Spurs had it all in the NBA Finals’ return to San Antonio.

Danny Green made seven of the Spurs’ Finals-record 16 three-pointers, Tim Duncan had 12 points and 14 rebounds and the Spurs clobbered the Miami Heat 113-77 last night to take 2-1 lead in the series.

Green scored 27 points and Gary Neal made six three-pointers while scoring 24 as San Antonio went 16 of 32 from behind the arc.

“All of my teammates and (coach Gregg Popovich), they do a great job of encouraging me,” Green said. “They continue to tell me to shoot the ball. They continue to tell me whenever I’m open, to let it fly.”

Duncan bounced back from his worst game ever in the Finals, and the Spurs’ combined fresh faces and old reliables in a raucous return to a city that hadn’t played host to a Finals game since 2007.

“It shouldn’t be a surprise,” Popovich said. “These are the last two teams standing. I don’t think either one of them is going to get down if they have a bad night.”

The Spurs shut down LeBron James until they had built a huge lead late in the third quarter. James finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds but missed 11 of his first 13 shots against the defense of Kawhi Leonard, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. James shot 7 of 21 from the field.

“I’m just missing shots,” James said. “They’re going under my pick-and-rolls, they’re daring me to shoot, and any time I get into the paint, they’re putting two bodies in front of me. When I get in transition, they’re putting two bodies in front of me. They’re doing a good job, but also I’ve got to be able to knock down shots.”

Duncan shot 3 of 13 for nine points, his worst performance ever in his 25 NBA Finals games, in the Heat’s 103-84 victory on Sunday. Tony Parker wasn’t much better, shooting 5 of 14 and committing five turnovers, and Manu Ginobili admitted afterward that the veteran trio had to play well for the Spurs to win.

They were fine last night, but the lesser-knowns were better. Parker and Ginobili combined for 14 assists, but the bigger story was the guys who had never played on this stage before.

• Neal went undrafted after playing for LaSalle and Towson, then playing overseas for three seasons in Italy, Spain and Turkey.

• Green, who had been cut multiple times — including by James’ Cleveland Cavaliers — now has the shot to stick.

• Leonard is a draft-night trade acquisition from San Diego State who played the NBA’s four-time MVP to a stalemate.

A brief flurry by James had Miami within 15 after three quarters, but Neal, Green and Leonard combined on a 13-0 run to open the fourth, with Green’s three-pointer making it 91-63.